Tahquechi Photography

While touching up the pictures from Mesa Verde I hit the wrong button in lightroom and got a happy surprise…I’m generally not one to do artsy shots but I really thought this one was pretty neat. Let me know what you think and you can check out the rest of the gallery from the main page.

So, while I was on vacation apparently my gallery page decided to vanish heh. While I resolve the problem I will use the main page here on tahquechi.com for the vacation galleries. Eventually (soon?) I will move the galleries back to the http://www.gallery.tahquechi.com page. Vacation pics are coming soon, I have been working on them and want them to be final before I post them. If your waiting for pictures expect a email shortly with the links to your gallery.

Be sure to check out the new Then and now page I have added. Its a picture of my grandfather’s Ford Model A, combined with my 2007 Toyota Rav taken on the same street here in Santa Cruz. Its surprising just how much the area has not changed. Many of the houses are still the original homes built in 1924. As always I look forward to your comments.

Last night I was out shooting(thanks to my wife Carrie for taking me out even though she didn’t feel like driving), trying to get the “now” shot for a couple of the retouched images I have been working on. It was just as sunset hit when the fog rolled in like oranges. As a result I didn’t get the shot I imagined for the then and now project but I did manage to take this one of the boardwalk.

I’m on track to have at least one if not 2 more then and now pictures done this week. We shall see how things go.

Happy Friday! well as promised I have gotten the first page up for the Then and Now section of the site. It took me a bit longer then antivipated…I wanted to make sure I had the facts for the dedication portion  all straight. Anyway, its weird to link to my own site but here goes…

http://www.tahquechi.com/tan/tanindex.htm

Next week I have to rebuild the navigation on the tops of the pages so you can get directly to the Then and Now section,  but you can at least see where I am headed with the whole . This is a picture of my Grandfather, the man who inspired me to do this whole then and now thing. I found an old photo album of his, and thought wow would it be a great idea to combine pictures that have been restored with current shots of the same area.

His name is Georgs Harrison and he, like me was legally blind and had a love of photography. The first then and now image I chose was the shot he took of Natural Bridges..he took the original shot with a Kodak Brownie No2. camera and developed the shot at the kitchen table. Ah how times have changed I still am developing the images but today its with photoshop and in a higher resolution than he could probably imagine.  Granted things were a lot tougher then… the chemical washes and developing, drying, rinsing…so much has changed now that you can take the card out of the camera and click a couple of buttons.   Dealing with the chemical developing method and being legally blind must have been a true test to his love for photographic art. I won’t pretend to imagine how hard it would have  been, I will just happily dedicate the then and now section to him for all the hard work he put in to make the images we can now all enjoy.

Please let me know what you think of the section and suggestions are always read and appreciated!

This is a scanned photo of the stone arch at Natural Bridges state beach. There was no date on the picture but from all the data I have collected, and where the picture was in the photo book it appears the shot was taken around 1927. It was taken with a brownie camera and developed in a home darkroom (kitchen table) Now, if I can only get a good shot of the arch to couple this with. Its very interesting to see the changes in the area and the arch since this shot was taken. I’m planning to shoot one evening this week will keep you posted on the progress.  The second source for photos I had has completely fallen through. Now I’m on the look for more historic shots I can use for this project. I have some great ones, but more would be better of course

Well here we go. This is the first one I have done. The origianl was a bit blurry so I scanned sharpened and retouched as much as I could. Now, the tough part{ trying  to figure out if this is from the Municipal Wharf aare. I know when Im in trouble, so I have sent off an email to http://www.sandylydon.com/  Local Historian Sandy Lydon has an awesome site and I am hoping can shed some light on the location of the shot. 

Speaking of history, when I started this project I had not really considered the need for historical information on each of the side by side photo comparisons. Well, in order to do this project right Im going to need some sources for historical reference. So, now Im scouting for pictures of the Wharf/lighthouse and Steamers area AND historical informaiton relating to those shots. The photo was taken on a foggy day (not at all unusual for Santa Cruz) you can make out the pillars of the wharf or a wharf and possibly west cliff drive behind it. The big question is what is the material in the foreground of the shot, is it the remains of the old railroad pier?